Dancing With Danger ➵Tyrus (COMPLETE)

8

"Mom, it's not what you think!" I scream as I jump up from where I was lying next to TJ on the floor. TJ looks up at me with narrowed eyes and hisses, "You just made it seem like what we were doing is a million times worse than what actually happened." I sigh and look at my mom with pleading eyes. "He's not a bad person, mom, he's not!" My mom holds her hand up to silence me, and I look down as she begins chewing the both of us out. "Cyrus, I told you to stay away from him, and you gave me your word. Then I come home to find you alone with him in your bedroom?" TJ butts in and tries to clear his name as my mom continues screaming about whatever horrific crimes we could have committed here. "Mrs. Goodman, I-"

"Ms. Goodman," my mom corrects, clearly angry about the name misuse. "Right, I apologize. Ms. Goodman, I'm not the same guy I was when I first got here. I come from a rough upbringing, and I know my reputation isn't the greatest-" My mom snorts at this as he continues rambling. "-But I am a better man. I work at Jackson Street Gym, now, and I think it's inspiring me to pursue teaching when I go to college. I have a solid group of friends that accept me for who I am, and above all, I have Cyrus. He's kind of been my rock since I got here. You really raised the best son, Ms. Goodman. He's one of the only good things to have ever happened to me--and certainly the best thing. I love him."

My mother's face seems to soften at this, and I notice her blinking away a few tears. "You love him?" she asks quietly. TJ nods his head in response. "I do."

Andi, Amber, Jonah, and Walker have unanimously agreed that Buffy was completely out of line when it came to manipulating TJ and I. Nobody except for Marty is really speaking to her at this point, and I see her sitting with her basketball team at lunch now. She seems to be a lot closer to them, so I guess it's more power to them. Meanwhile, TJ has been in the middle of some kind of crisis over who knows what. I see him sitting at lunch with Jonah, and they seem to be in the middle of deep conversation.

TJ's POV

"Dude, I have no idea how I barely realized this," I practically scream, pulling my panicked face closer to Jonah's. He looks back at me with confusion in his tone. "What do you mean, man?"

I sigh and shake my head, growing increasingly annoyed with this guy's obliviousness. "It's the middle of November; how did I not realize that Cyrus is Jewish up until this point?" Now it's Jonah's turn to shake his head and throw his hands up. "Cyrus is Jewish? I thought he was a pacifist."

Would...would I get suspended for punching this guy right now? 'Cuz I'm actually about to punch this guy right now.

Cyrus walks over as I contemplate my odds of going back to juvie, greeting me with those gorgeous brown eyes and sweet smile. "Hi, what's going on?" he asks, eyes wide in excitement and curiosity. I'm not about to tell Cyrus why I'm freaking out. He should know why I'm freaking out. Christmas is only, like, a month away, and I invited Cyrus to my family's Christmas party! Of course, he said yes, but I'm pretty sure he just felt bad about my naivety or something. I later found out from Amber that Cyrus is Jewish and planning on decorating the coffee shop with a mix of Hanukkah and Christmas decorations. "Just talkin' about how excited I am...for Hanukkah?" I manage out, which earns a laugh from Cyrus. "I thought I was going to a Christmas party with you," Cyrus says inquisitively. I nod my head and crack a half-smile. "Yes, yes! I just know that you probably wanna celebrate Hanukkah, too. 'Cuz, y' know...Jewish." "Niceberg, dude" Jonah whispers as I shoot him a glare.

Cyrus smiles and sits down next to me, resting his head on my shoulder. "Let's celebrate both," he finally says with a slight nod. "And what's more, let's definitely go to the winter school dance!" I rest my chin on his head and smile. "It's a date."